Thread: iShield 2.0

AT THE CORNER NEWSSTAND, THEY cover up the skin magazines and put them up high where kids can't reach. Guardware's iShield 2.0 tries to do the equivalent for porno¬graphic images on the Internet. Using a complex algorithm involving skin tones, textures, limb positions, and more, it attempts to cover up porn and only porn. This new release updates the basic Internet-only iShield product to match the iShield Plus edition updated last fall.

After installing the product, you launch the password-protected control panel. For each user account on the computer, you select one of five profiles: Child, Teen, Adult, Default, or Off. The software comes with settings preconfigured for each profile, but you can tweak these to suit yourself. A protection-level slider lets you set the engine's sensitivity to Safe, Safer, or Safest. The higher the setting, the more images iShield will block.



By default, porn images get covered by a pic¬ture of a big shield against a jarring black-and-yel low striped background. This version lets you replace that picture with an image you select yourself. It's impressive how well iShield 2.0 manages to recognize naked people in pictures. The program will keep you or your little ones from accidentally encountering porn images on the Internet. It also blocks all Internet access on a schedule you specify. It's not as ambitious as the Plus edition, and as a result it's more successful overall. Keep in mind, however, that it won't stop a determined teenager from seeking out nude photos of celebrity hotties.